All About London

I never thought I'd say, but I actually miss London.

Yes. The city I thought I'd never miss, I am feeling deep pangs of longing for.

The city where the transit system is a joke, where the street names are confounding (Sunnyside Drive to Sunnyside Crescent to Sunnyside Court), the people have an air of importance, the university students run the downtown bars and there is a whole lotta NUTHIN' goin' on.

I miss it.

The things I miss about London, in no particular order:
- The fact that I can call a cab at 10:45 p.m., and take me downtown for about $15, in far less time than it would take me to even get to the subway station, let alone ride the subway somewhere.
- And if I wanted to, I could walk to the bar. (Although who the hell are we kidding, there's no way I would do that...)
- I can get poutine at 2 a.m., and then walk home from the bar eating it. Okay, I can get the food, then sit in a cab ride home eating it. Again, for $15! It would cost about $40-60 to take a cab home in Toronto, depending on what bar I'm going to.
- The lack of choice in bars. This both means I don't have to be choosey, and I'll probably see someone I know (for example, a certain namesake in the bathroom at T.J. Baxter's on a random Saturday night).
- Parking. How I miss the days of driving places in less than 15 minutes, and not having to promise my first-born child so I can park my damn car for ten minutes. Now the allure of a place is whether or not it has free parking ("That mall has free parking?! Well, what stores does it have? A Giant Tiger? Well, at least I can park for free!").
- The summer. All of the free festivals (which equals lemonade and food), as well as the UWO students departing, and being able to get into any bar, at any time. The city may be dead, but we have a kick-ass time drinking all the drinks those students would be drinking.
- And for that matter, Western. I can walk to class in under five minutes, instead of having to take some mass transit system, or run. And the campus really is beautiful, instead of some drab space crammed into a downtown block, where I can meet my classmates, as well as some hobos I'm sure.
- "Fashionable" Western girls. I don't know which is worse; the Ugg boots and TNA bags of the Western fashion elite, or the fake geek glasses and randomly coloured hair that is favoured by Toronto girls. Either way, it made for an amusing past-time on campus.
- Traffic. Well, the abscence of it. Honestly, why is there a traffic jam on the Don Valley parkway at 9:30 p.m. on a Thursday night? I just want a schwarma, dammit!
- SCHWARMAS! Everywhere. Two in White Oaks, a bunch downtown, and I can park for free and get my fix. Honestly, I would do anything for a good schwarma.
- Crowds on the subway. Move out of the damn way!
- The JLC. Okay, the ACC definitely gets better concerts (Justin, Britney, Madonna, Christina, Pink, to name a few), but it sure was nice to get the hell out of the concert at a decent hour (see Traffic). Oh, and not pay a ton for parking (see Parking). Everything just comes full circle, here...

The things I like about Toronto, and where London is sadly lacking:
- The subway (no, not the restaurant, but who doesn't love their meatball subs?!). I can take it anytime during the day, and wait only a few minutes for it arrive (you hear that 13 Wellington?! A few minutes, not every half-hour.), and then go all over the city. And on that note...
- The transit system in general. Again, you can get almost anywhere in the city. Sure, I'm not going to ride it for 90 minutes to get to airport, but it's the idea that I CAN which makes it so appealing.
- The lack of choice in bars. Seriously, if there's a line at my favourite bar, Thorny Devil, I'd probably go to Robinson Hall, and tempt the bouncers upstairs to let me in somehow. But other than that, I don't "do" waiting in line at bars. If there's a line, I'm probably out, and not likely going to hoof it somewhere else. And with all the Western students, good luck getting into anywhere good after 11:30 p.m. on a Friday/Saturday night.
- Creepy London boys. At least, compared to moderately well-dressed Toronto boys who usually don't greet me by staring at my breasts. And these are the guys at the bar who leer and attempt to dance with you when you aren't paying attention. Yes, they exist everywhere, but these boys are often small-towners, who just want to get married and procreate. No thanks.
- Vintage shops. So many, so little time.
- Not working in a job where my job description accounts for the fact that I will likely be yelled at, by people too incompetant to realize their electronic item won't turn on because they haven't hit the "power" button.
- Getting to wear jeans at work. Wearing jeans just about everywhere. Maybe I can finally use the 25+ pairs I own.
- The abscence of "Fashionable" Western girls. Instead I get mature students at Ryerson who wear penny loafers and sweater sets. And I'm in jeans (see above).

I'm not sure if I'm missed anything.

Either way, I do miss London, and most of all, miss all of the awesome people who live there. As I've said to some of you, "I live in Toronto, but I party in London!" While that may be true right now, I know I'll eventually stop coming back every weekend, and begin fully appreciating Toronto. And then who knows? I'll probably move somewhere else, and miss Toronto!